Kumpel & Malocher – Merchandising Fulfillment for one of the biggest clubs in Europe.

Offering loyal fans an incomparable shopping experience, fan merchandise in the right place at the right time and ensuring maximum availability of goods in the fan stores – FC Schalke 04 and RHIEM Services GmbH have been working together for years to implement these success factors in merchandising.

B2C Fulfillment / B2B Fulfillment / Value Added Services

 

The soccer club Gelsenkirchen Schalke 04 e.V. was founded on May 4, 1904 in Gelsenkirchen and is now one of the largest sports clubs in the world with around 190,000 members. As an internationally renowned club with a long tradition, S04 can look back on a long history characterized by triumphs such as the UEFA Cup victory in 1997, seven German championship titles and five DFB Cup victories, but also by challenging times. The myth of the Schalke market is not just an empty phrase, which is demonstrated not least by the millions of fans and their loyal connection to the club – regardless of sporting success or failure. This is also stated in the Royal Blue mission statement: “Each and every one of us gives his or her best for the club, whether player, employee, member or fan. We stand up for FC Schalke 04 with a broad chest, in good times and in bad. We are proud to be Schalke fans!”. RHIEM Services joins this ranks as a long-standing partner and is proud to have supported Schalke 04 for ten years as a reliable B2C and B2B logistics partner in the strategically important merchandising sector.

The challenge

“We stand up for our FC Schalke 04 with a broad chest, in good times and bad” – this sentence in Schalke’s mission statement and the most important component of the breeding ground of the Schalke legend has given the club an extremely large national and international fan base over the years. Accordingly, jerseys, scarves and many other merchandise items are in high demand. The club has responded to this with a multi-channel sales model, with which the merchandise range is sold both in the club’s own online store and in its own fan stores.

The logistical challenge is significantly influenced by the typical nature of the merchandise industry, which is characterized in particular by high order peaks throughout the year (e.g. for jersey launches), a wide range with high storage capacity and a high degree of individuality. FC Schalke 04 relies on RHIEM Services to efficiently map the B2C and B2B logistics of this challenging merchandising project in order to lead the merchandising business to long-term and sustainable success.

Our solution

B2C and B2B logistics from a single warehouse with a wide range of products, high order peaks and a high degree of customization – our buddy and miner solution for FC Schalke 04.

B2C Fulfillment

Christmas presents under the tree on time or wearing the new jersey at the first home game of the season – the B2C logistics solution for FC Schalke 04 requires a high degree of flexibility, scalability and reliability. A club lives from its members and fans, and our fulfillment solution contributes significantly to their satisfaction. The customer’s own packing area set up by RHIEM offers the possibility of individually flocking jerseys with your own name. In addition, it ensures short routes, sufficient capacity for peak phases and a high order throughput per hour.

B2B Fulfillment

In addition to the powerful D2C channel, FC Schalke 04 successfully operates stationary fan stores. Whether in the largest shopping centers in North Rhine-Westphalia, at the office in Gelsenkirchen or in the VELTINS-Arena during home games – FC Schalke 04’s fan stores depend on the reliable and correct availability of goods as well as regular and punctual deliveries. RHIEM Services has created a set-up in the B2B packing area of the Knappen that meets these requirements. B2B orders draw on the central warehouse stock and are efficiently packed in the B2B packing area in the designated means of transport so that the fan stores can rely on a consistently high availability of goods as part of regular round trips.

Value Added Services

The logistics set-up of FC Schalke 04 at RHIEM is completed by covering the high degree of customization – integrated into the logistics processes – so that S04 can offer its fans the entire customer experience from a single source. The flocking of jerseys with player names, shirt numbers, sponsor logos and individual flocks was integrated into the logistics process by Rhiem both in terms of IT and processes – without any major delays in shipping. Other value-added services implemented include an individual returns process including refurbishment and the packaging of member folders.

A special club requires a special logistics solution. RHIEM has achieved this and is proud of its close partnership with FC Schalke 04.